


Someone You'll Never Meet

by AdrianaintheSnow



Series: Is There Anything Left of Patton? [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: ...ish, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, M/M, Past Character Death, Patton is dead(?)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22804843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrianaintheSnow/pseuds/AdrianaintheSnow
Summary: “Would you eat me if I came into that cell right now?” Virgil asked. “I bet you’d eat me. I bet it’s just that Logan doesn’t taste good or something. That’s it isn’t it?” He hesitated as he grabbed the keys from the wall. “I’m such an idiot,” he mumbled.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Is There Anything Left of Patton? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639429
Comments: 33
Kudos: 215





	Someone You'll Never Meet

**Author's Note:**

> The zombie AU continues. It will remain sad.

It had been two months since Virgil… well, _met_ Patton was probably not the correct way to describe it, was it? He’d discovered Patton’s existence, maybe? Should he even call whatever was in that cage Patton? Was that fair to Patton? It… it wasn’t really Patton. Virgil had never met Patton. Virgil knew the man that Patton had been only through the little stories Logan had let slip in the past two months, spoken quietly into the silence of the living room as though he were speaking more to himself than to Virgil. Yet, those stories spoke of life and happiness. Who Patton had been in his life popped out of those somber retellings like flowers popped out of the barren ground at the beginning of spring. No, Virgil had never met Patton. He would never meet Patton. Yet, it still felt like he knew him, at least a little bit. And Patton…

Patton was not _this._

Virgil watched the creature in the cell move and twitch in its bonds. If it was aware of his presence, Virgil could not tell. It only really reacted when someone moved or made noise, and Virgil had been siting silently staring at it for close to an hour. He’d taken to going down into the basement to see whatever Patton was now every so often. Sometimes, he joined Logan when he went down to check on it, but other times, he went without Logan’s knowledge. It had been disconcerting at first: the sounds it made, the way it never seemed to truly focus on anything, and just the knowledge of what had happened to Patton to make him into this. Yet, Virgil had steadily grown desensitized to it over the weeks. It was less creepy and disturbing and more sad now.

The first time he’d descended those steps without Logan’s knowledge, he honestly had not known if he intended to just kill it. It had been a close thing if he were being truly honest. He hadn’t though; he still didn’t know if it was the right thing. However, it was too late. Virgil had gotten attached.

He’d started to talk to it, at first just wondering aloud if he should kill it or not, but eventually he’d started to talk about other things like his day and his feelings. That was his mistake. Really, he should know by now how emotionally attached he could get to not person things. He’d cried over his house plant dying at the age of 22. What had he expected?

It almost felt like he was talking to a person sometimes when it moved its head toward the sound of his voice with blank eyes. Almost.

“Would you eat me if I came into that cell right now?” he asked. It turned its head at the new noise but continued to make the same groaning sounds behind the gag it always did. Virgil set his chin on his bent knees. “I bet you’d eat me. I bet it’s just that Logan doesn’t taste good or something. That’s it isn’t it?”

No response, of course. Not even a twitch of understanding on its face.

“Even if you wouldn’t eat me, where’s the line?” he wondered at it. “You eat raw meat, don’t you? Would you eat something alive if it wasn’t a person? What if you got hungry enough? Logan feeds you regularly, doesn’t he? What would you do if he stopped? Would you eat someone if you were really hungry?” Virgil stood from where he’d sat close to the door of the cage. He hesitated as he grabbed the keys from the wall.

“I’m such an idiot,” he mumbled. He picked up the small cage he’d set on the table earlier and grimaced. “I’m real sorry about this buddy,” he said, peering in at the rat in the cage. For safety, he’d brought some thick rubber kitchen gloves. He put them on before unlocking the cell. Patton reacted to the sound of him entering, getting more agitated and straining against its bonds. After locking the door behind himself, he set the cage on the ground and reached for the gag on the zombie’s mouth, quickly undoing it. It made a grunting noise and moved its face. Virgil jumped back. He watched it for a few tense moments. It still strained and strained against the bonds. Just like always. Virgil took a deep breath and picked up the cage.

The rat full on screamed when Virgil grabbed it by the tail and pulled it out. It dug its teeth into the gloves but couldn’t get through them. “Okay,” Virgil said swallowing. It’s just like feeding a pet snake, he told himself. “Let’s see.” He stepped back toward the zombie and hovered the rat over its mouth, just barely in reach. It did nothing, so Virgil moved his hand forward a bit more, careful to keep the rat at an angle where it would not be able to claw or bite Patton. The rat brushed its lips. There was a reaction then; the creature jerked its head away from the touch.

Virgil brought the rat away. “No?” he asked. “No rat? You don’t want to eat the rat?” The only response was a weird exhaling sound.

Virgil stared for a moment. He put the rat back in the cage. “Congratulations buddy,” he said. “You don’t get eaten today.” He turned back to the creature attached to the wall, “but will we all be so lucky?” He approached it slowly and stripped off one of the gloves. “This is so stupid.” He reached forward and pressed his own wrist to its mouth. “Huh,” he said after a moment when he didn’t feel teeth pierce his skin. Patton wiggled and turned away. “You really don’t eat people, huh?” he asked.

He sat down in front of it and watched it move for a while. “Is there anything left of Patton?” Virgil asked. “Because he sounded like a pretty cool guy from what little Logan’s said.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe you’re like one of those coma patients,” he suggested. “The ones who can still hear and feel but can’t do anything ‘cause their bodies won’t move. Except in this case, your body didn’t get the memo. Can you hear me? Patton?”

There was nothing. He did not react to his name like Virgil secretly sort of hoped. (It was a stupid hope; Logan had said his name to him many times before, and he had never reacted then.)

Virgil curled his arms around his knees. “I like your garden,” Virgil told him softly. “Honestly, Logan almost destroyed it because he’s not the best with plants, but I was able to see what you’d been doing with it and got it mostly back into shape. I found some of the old little signs you made in the shed. They’re cute. I mean, the drawings are horrible and the puns on them are the actual worst, but, like, in a charming way, you know? I wonder what Logan thought of your puns. He probably hated them, didn’t he? Or at least pretended to. He likes to pretend to be a serious nerd, doesn’t he? I’d imagine he’d love to hear one now though. He loves you.”

Virgil sat and talked to him for longer than he usually allowed himself. It was probably long enough that Logan would be awake and in the living room by the time he stopped.

When he decided it was time to leave him, Virgil reached forward again to touch his face near his mouth. The skin was colder than it should be. Patton again did not try to bite him. “Logan doesn’t like keeping you down here,” Virgil divulged as he stroked a thumb across his cheek to no reaction but some slight squirming, “but he doesn’t want to risk you hurting anyone. I… honestly think it’s less about him worrying about other people and more because he knows you’d hate it if you hurt someone even if it wasn’t really you,” he paused and drew his hand away, “but you aren’t going to hurt anyone, are you?”

Virgil nodded as though he’d responded in some way and stood up. “He’ll probably be pissed when I tell him I did this, but maybe, with the confirmation, he’ll let himself bring you upstairs sometimes. I think you might be more comfortable there.”

He turned to go back upstairs.

He left the gag off.


End file.
